If Tomorrow Never Comes
by KaydenceRei
Summary: They had never really clicked together socially nor in the heat of a fight, although Natasha could admit she was partially at fault for that because while Bruce naturally avoided social situations, Natasha had unnaturally avoided any social situations that included him; until he saved her life. Pre-Brutasha. Pre-AoU.


This isn't my typical single PoV writing, just going with a new variation for this story. This one-shot is the result of me going for coffee and brain food for 'Never Say Never' but unfortunately my brain didn't seem to get that memo. Thankfully it did come up with this story instead so at least it was semi-effective, eh?

 **If Tomorrow Never Comes** :

" _Fight as if it's your last breath,  
work hard as if it's your last chance,  
take every chance no matter what,  
because what if tomorrow never comes?"_

The explosion rocked the entire Hydra base.

Natasha felt the reverberations throughout her entire body before everything went completely dark. By the time she came to she would be damned if she knew just how long she had been knocked out; seconds, minutes, hours—though she doubted it was the latter considering smoke, dirt and dust had yet to really settle around her. The last thing she remembered she and Tony had been about three stories below the basement of the base and he had been at one of their computer terminals—next the explosion—and then this very moment she was in now.

She choked on the dirt and smoke swirling around her, about to raise her hand to waft some of it away from her face when her right arm wouldn't cooperate with her brain's commands. She had to squint through the smoke to see the large metal bar that had her arm trapped and she made an attempt to shift the rest of her body. That only yielded another failure as she coughed and shifted her head to her hips. Finally she managed to move her left arm, waving at the smoke to clear some of her view, then she saw the steel pylon that was pinning her down.

"Romanoff?"

It sounded like Tony but it didn't stop her mind from going into defense mode. Not that she could think of any formidable way to defend herself while trapped under a pylon with only a single movable limb. It also didn't stop her body from trying to move, an automatic and defensive attempt that immediately resulted in mind blowing pain. She must have moaned or groaned—maybe made a louder noise than either of those—because Tony found her within seconds.

"Roman—" Tony froze the second he caught sight of the redhead. Her outward cry had given him her position but what he found—what he found could have only been made worse by finding her dead body. Blood flowed from a steady gash on the upper left of her forehead, her body was trapped at the hip by one pylon, and her one arm trapped by a large metal bar. He almost couldn't believe that she was alive. "Good God..." he muttered out, kneeling down next to her, not even sure where to start with her predicament.

"That bad, huh?" she questioned in a half-laugh, half-cough. She could see through the clearing smoke that his suit wasn't quite up to par. One arm of the suit was completely gone, leaving just his actual arm hanging out from his Iron Man suit. His face mask was gone as well along with parts of the armor on his legs but he seemed to be moving around her without issue so she assumed his armor must have shielded him from a decently large amount of the explosion.

"How bad's the pain?" Tony dared to ask her. Given the way she had cried out before he could assume it was pretty damn terrible because he'd never known Natasha to react to pain or injury until now.

"Excruciating," she assured him with the barest of smiles. It seemed to make the billionaire wary and for some reason she felt the need to ease his worry, "That's a good thing. In this case pain is better than no pain."

He should have known that. He supposed he _had_ known that, although logical thinking had gone out the window momentarily at hearing her admittance to the pain. "Alright, let's get these off of you," he offered up, moving to the one over top of her arm first. "We start with this one, this way you at least get some upper body movement," he told her.

It wasn't exactly as though Natasha were in the position to disagree with what he decided and so she nodded. She watched as he moved his still-armored shoulder beneath the metal bar and used his full weight to somewhat lift the bar. It was barely enough but she pulled her arm to the side and watched as he dropped the bar down with a grunt. It was bleeding, most certainly bruised, but she didn't think it was broken as she stretched it out and wiggled her fingers. Given the pain she supposed a fracture was also a damn good possibility. "Thanks..." she offered up, finally able to at least sit up slightly.

"Wouldn't get too excited," Tony told her with a frown as he studied his suit and tapped what was left of his helmet. "I've got no power to my suit," he explained as he searched for a good spot to get some leverage for the pylon on top of her.

Natasha took a few shaky breaths before she decided she wouldn't be able to hold herself up like this for any long period of time. "Anything around here we could put behind me?" she asked him.

Tony narrowed his eyes a little in confusion before he realized what she was inferring. She needed the support to sit up and he quickly scanned the small area with his eyes. "I can push some debris up behind you, get you something to lean on," he offered up, "gimme a minute."

She did. She gave him five to be exact before she found herself looking around for the billionaire. "Stark?" she questioned aloud. She didn't hear a response. In fact she didn't hear much of anything besides the crumbling of more debris above them. "Stark?" she called out a little louder, twisting her upper body around to peer in other directions. It caused a brief flare of panic when he didn't answer her and she was quickly trying to pull herself backwards and out from beneath the pylon. The pain was unbearable and she had to stop just so she could catch her breath, gripping her fingertips tightly on the pylon even as her knuckles turned white. Once she had her breath again she made one last try to call for him, "Tony!" Nothing. She made the attempt to push against the pylon with her hands while trying to pull out her legs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tony growled out to her, putting his hands over hers atop the pylon in an instant. He was surprised by just how worked up she'd gotten within the five minutes that he'd been gone and he said the only thing he could think of, "Calm down. I just need to push that big ass block behind you."

"What the hell took you so long?" she muttered out, grimacing as she kept herself held up using the pylon before she mocked one of his own former sarcastic retorts, "you stop for drive-thru?"

Tony snickered as he moved away and began pushing the giant concrete block up behind her. "Glad to see your wit is still in tact," he responded. Although he knew his tone came out more annoyed than pleased, he truly _was_ glad to hear her make a joke.

"Why didn't you answer me?" she questioned him, arching her head to watch him pushing the giant block up behind her. Yet he didn't answer her. "Tony!" she growled out in annoyance.

"What?" he questioned, looking up sharply at her sudden tone of frustration; not to mention her usage of his first name.

Natasha frowned before she realized _why_ he hadn't answered before. The man could barely hear her from five feet away until she yelled at him. Finally she felt the cinder block push against her back and she felt sweet relief as she released her grip on the pylon and was able to sit up without nearly as much effort. She watched Tony plop down beside her to breathe for a moment and she rested her hand on his unarmored forearm before she spoke, "You're having issues hearing, aren't you?"

Tony eyed her distastefully when she asked him regardless of the fact that she was right. "My ears are ringing. You know—mass explosion with your head inside a tin can? It does that sometimes," he told her with a shrug, "it'll pass."

She could feel some of the pain giving way to a tingling sensation in her legs, not that it completely diminished the pain but she could garner that it meant nothing remotely good. "You should start digging your way out of here," she told him as she took a few deep breaths and rested a bit more comfortably against the debris he'd moved behind her. "I'm not moving anytime soon. The rest of this place can come down at any time, it's a miracle it hasn't already," she reminded him.

"I'm not just leaving you here," Tony told her with a roll of his eyes as he finally sat up and moved around to the pylon on top of her again.

"This isn't some self-sacrificing moment here, Stark," she lied with a prominent roll of her eyes to make it more believable. Apparently he decided to ignore her as he wedged his still-armored shoulder underneath the pylon. She groaned when he attempted to push the pylon off of her, the tingling that had started suddenly giving way to throbbing pain. She spoke through it nonetheless, gritting her teeth all the while, "I need you to dig your way out so you can get some help down here for me."

"God this thing is heavy," Tony grumbled out, ignoring her attempts to make him leave. He made the attempt to use all his weight and strength to push it up, though this time he heard the strangled noise come from the redhead beneath it and he stopped instantly, moving back beside her. "You alright?" he dared to ask.

Natasha could feel the sweat beading down her forehead as she laid her head back on the concrete block and took pained breaths. "Just start digging," she told him with a sigh of relief as some of the pain gave way to tingling again. Again she had to remind herself that the tingling—that would eventually give way to numbness—was _not_ a good thing regardless of its relief of her pain.

"Better idea," Tony told her, "I'll go find something to give me a little leverage, we get you out of there, then we dig out of this deathtrap together." He knew what she was up to. Regardless of her insistence that she wasn't being 'self-sacrificing', he knew the truth. She was trying to save his life by pretending he could get out and get her help in time before the entire place collapsed on top of him.

"Tony," she growled out, " _go_."

"No," Tony told her more forcefully as he dug through the rubble around them.

Natasha groaned as she closed her eyes for a moment. "Why the hell not?" she questioned.

"Positions reversed, would you leave me?" Tony questioned in response.

In truth, one or two years ago she may have, but most certainly not now. Definitely not after this she wouldn't. "I damn well would," she lied expertly nonetheless, "I don't even like you much."

"Much being the keyword," Tony told her, grinning in her direction as he pulled a long and sturdy metal rebar from the rubble. He headed back beside her as he moved the rebar underneath the pylon. "However that means that you _do_ like me," he teased.

"I'm beginning to question why," she mumbled out, exhaustion filling her completely as she kept her head resting back. She thought she heard him talking but she didn't quite make out the words any longer, not until she felt the pylon shift. Suddenly excruciating and unrelenting pain rippled throughout her body and instantly brought her back to reality. She shot straight up, barely able to find her will to breathe as she pressed her hands against the pylon. "Stop..." her voice came out raggedy and quiet, barely existent. "Stop! Tony, _stop_!" she cried out in an instant.

Tony froze, easing the pylon back down the small amount he'd managed to lift it up before he dropped the rebar and moved back to Natasha's side. She was breathing heavily, sweat causing rivets across her soot covered face. She wasn't responding now as her eyes closed and he frowned in an instant. "Romanoff?" he questioned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't you dare pass out on me," he grumbled out, giving her shoulder the slightest of shakes before he tapped her face gently, " _Natasha_."

Natasha felt her eyes shoot open and she looked at Tony. She took a few shaky breaths before she felt the tingling relief again. "Please don't do that again," she requested, "without your suit powered up you can't lift that thing, it's too heavy..."

He couldn't deny that she was right. He'd barely moved it a centimeter. In fact, he was afraid all he managed to do was make it worse. Even so he didn't have the heart to just leave her down here just to save his own ass. "I won't leave you down here to die alone," he told her, taking a seat beside her to rest for a moment and try to think.

"So instead you want to die together?" she asked with a disbelieving scoff, "that's idiotic."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Offending my ego isn't going to make me leave," he informed her with a shrug. "And we're not going to die, not you, not me," he assured her regardless of his own uncertainty on the subject, "I just need to think for a minute. I'll figure out how to get you out from under there and then get us _both_ out."

Natasha scrunched her eyes closed as though it might diminish the aching in her head. "Why are you doing this?" she finally dared to ask, "why won't you just leave?"

"Despite our differences and despite our not-so-fond attitude towards each other, I still consider us somewhat of friends," he explained to her, "and while I'm offended that you seem to think you can convince me to walk out on you here, I'm pretty damn sure you're lying when you say you would leave me behind."

She didn't say anything to that as she steadied her breathing out again. He wasn't wrong. There was a rumbling—dust, dirt and debris falling around them and she was stunned when Tony covered her own body with his. The place sounded like it was near to falling apart, not that it wasn't wrecked already, and she stared at the billionaire in slight disbelief. Finally she gave in, "You're right."

"What?" he questioned, not entirely sure he heard her right, "my hearing must be off still because I thought you said I was right."

"I'm not repeating myself," she choked out through the dust caught in her throat. The next noise gave her pause. While the place was _definitely_ falling apart, she swore she heard something else behind the crumbling of the rest of the building. "What was that?" she managed to ask.

"What was what?" Tony asked, straining to hear anything beyond the destruction all around them.

Her heart plummeted into her stomach and she felt herself swallow dryly when the grunting, groaning and feral growls became more clear. In truth, the very idea that The Hulk might kill them was scarier then the rest of this building collapsing in on them and crushing them, although given Tony's next comment, that opinion was merely her own.

"Thank God for a big green rescue machine," Tony called out with a grin. His happiness only subsided a little when he felt the racing of Natasha's pulse, her heart beating rapidly. When he glanced down he saw her looking with the slightest look of fear in the direction that The Hulk's roars came from. He was reminded in that moment that while Bruce and the Other Guy had been playing nice with the team on the few occasions he'd been forced to join the fray, it didn't mean that what happened between Natasha and he aboard the Helicarrier during Loki's attack had by any means gone away. He should have realized it before now. They avoided each other most times. Even during a fight it was as though The Hulk knew and kept a distance between himself and the redhead Tony was currently protecting. "Hey, this is a _good_ thing," he assured her.

Natasha didn't share his rather optimistic opinion even when a giant green fist breached part of the wreckage above them. It disappeared, bits of light flooding in through the hole left behind before it came through again just to the side, making the hole larger. He did much the same about ten times before it was large enough and she felt her body stiffen when an enormous green mass landed inside the small area with herself and Tony. He barely fit down there with them, unable to actually stand, and she doubted he was moving comfortably hunched over the way that he was.

Tony was stunned when Bruce's less friendly half moved forward and grabbed hold of him. "Whoa there, Big Guy, gentle with the goods," he warned him. Admittedly now he found himself a little uncertain about this rescue. "Whacha doing, buddy?" he questioned as the Big Buy wandered back to the hole he had climbed out of. Suddenly he realized _exactly_ what The Hulk was doing. "No, no, no," he told him, "Natasha is stuck, _she_ needs your help!"

Natasha had to admit some relief as The Hulk climbed back out of the hole he came in through with Tony trapped under one arm. He'd ignored the billionaire's demands to go back for her but at least _one_ of them was getting out. Bits and pieces of the building were falling around her, everything was shaking, and in that very moment she felt the fear of dying—of dying alone—and it was unsettling and nerve wracking to say the least.

It felt selfish as she suddenly missed Tony's presence because that meant he'd still be down here about to die with her, yet it meant she wouldn't be alone. It was survival instinct that had her pushing painfully against the pylon again, attempting to dislodge her legs despite the ample amount of pain it caused. Despite the front she had put up with Tony, she did _not_ want to die here, something she hadn't entirely realized she cared about until this very moment. It felt like hours of trying to get herself out despite the fact she knew it was only a few minutes and she slammed her fist against the pylon in anger and frustration—in fear. "C'mon!" she growled out. It wasn't as though hitting it was any more useful than her pushing against it though, a useless endeavor that had only served to make her feel a little better for a brief second.

She pounded both fists against it now, pissed that _this_ would be the way she died—buried beneath the rubble of some stupid and pathetic Hydra base that had self-destructed on top of them. They had walked straight into a trap and she was going to die for it. She wondered briefly if Steve, Clint and Thor had met similar circumstances at the other base. It only frustrated her further because she'd made it her mission in life to make sure Clint always went home to his family—to Laura, Cooper and Lila—and right this very moment she didn't even know if he was dead or alive, if maybe he was buried under rubble in some other middle-of-nowhere Hydra base. "Dammit!" she grumbled, smacking the pylon again and again, "dammit, dammit, dammit!"

 _Thud_.

Natasha looked up sharply, stunned to see the large green mass of The Hulk drop back down a few feet away. She honestly wasn't sure if she was relieved or terrified to see him this time. He looked as wary as he did angry, an expression that she had never before seen on him as he took a few steps closer, almost like an animal that was cautiously approaching something unknown that it found completely and utterly curious.

For a brief moment she forgot how to breathe, not until he placed one hand under the pylon next to her own hand. He was looking at her now, normally vicious brown eyes—although perhaps she'd only _thought_ they always seemed vicious—suddenly looking more worried than hostile. He looked around, studying their surroundings and taking in the situation, and suddenly she knew what he was thinking; Moving that pylon might free her but it was also the only thing currently keeping everything around them from collapsing down on them, something neither she nor Tony had quite paid attention to before, albeit they certainly should have.

"It's okay," Natasha told him, finally truly in acceptance of the circumstances, leaning back against the concrete block that Tony had put behind her earlier. "Just go," she told him, "you move that thing and I'm dead anyway..."

He snarled at the idea.

"We both know I'm right," she pointed out with a frown.

The Hulk didn't look at all thrilled with her thoughts on the subject and she could see the way he was looking all around again, his brain trying to come up with a solution that just didn't exist. For the first time Natasha realized she was seeing him for what he was now, not a monster, but a teammate. She could see the man behind the beast and she really wished she could have set aside her fear of him earlier than moments before her death.

Despite her uncertainties that still remained, Natasha pressed her hand to his arm, watching the wild look in his eyes as he looked down at her in surprise. She supposed not a lot of people dared to simply reach out and touch him before, she was a little shocked she had dared to do it herself, not that she had much to lose at this point. She also wondered how many people had ever actually been close enough to even try. "It's okay," she assured him again. "You came back for me, you tried," she reminded him, giving him the smallest of smiles.

He gave the smallest shake of his head as he released a loud and deep breath.

Natasha studied him as he looked between her, the pylon, and then the hole he had created earlier. It was an almost Bruce-like look, one that said he had an idea but also that he wasn't sure about it. "If you think you can do this, that there's a chance," she told him, watching as she shifted his gaze back to hers before she gave him her blessing, "then do it, what have I got to lose?"

The Hulk snorted, nodded, then motioned for her to sit up.

She groaned as she did so, gripping her hand on the pylon to hold herself steady before his enlarged green arm came around behind her. He moved her _while_ pushing the pylon up and in an instant she felt all the excruciating pain return when the weight was lifted off her. She felt herself lifted up in the exact instant that she was freed, pulled against the Big Guy's chest. She knew the moan of pain left her lips and _then_ she realized what he was doing. She was free but he was still holding up the pylon. She watched him reach one leg out and she couldn't imagine the strength it took to do what he was doing. Not just hold her, but hold the weight of the pylon and _all_ the weight that it currently held, all while trying to move a concrete block with his foot.

His foot finally came in contact with it's target and she watched as he edged it closer with his foot before he gave it a swift kick into place where she had just been. It rested beneath the pylon and he let go, albeit she gave him even more credit because he knew he'd left it unstable. She felt herself lifted further up, tucked between his chest and the crook of his arm as he took off for the same hole, hunched over and moving almost like an ape would. It was a bumpy ride but he was climbing remarkably quick and within moments she heard everything beneath them start to crumble and collapse in.

Natasha wasn't sure if her body was just in shock or if she'd just been scared out of her wits, but the moment The Hulk pulled her out into daylight, when she saw everything collapse into the hole seconds after their escape, she felt her entire body shaking.

Perhaps the adrenaline merely wore off.

She rested her head against his chest wearily, her breaths coming out more than a little unsteady as she closed her eyes and tried to relax.

All she knew now was that if she woke up then she would make certain to _never_ avoid the scientist that shelled the monster again. Both of them had just saved her life and she would never forget it. By the time darkness fully took over her vision, she felt his other arm cradling her as well, and it was honestly the safest she had felt in a _long_ time.

* * *

Bruce sat in the lab at the tower by himself. Apparently having their resident spy and assassin lying unconscious in the medical lab just next door wasn't merely distracting to him but to Tony as well. The billionaire was currently in visiting her. Although she hadn't awakened for the several hours since their return, Bruce supposed they'd formed a bond in their shared near-death experience because they didn't typically _choose_ to be in one another's company.

He had a moment when he had first seen her for himself where he thought the Other Guy had done it to her, that he had nearly killed her for the second time. It wasn't until Tony explained what happened in the destruction of the Hydra base that Bruce found himself stunned. Not only had the Other Guy saved Tony—again—but he'd also rescued Natasha, none of whom's injuries had been caused by him but rather by the circumstances of the base explosion. Apparently while The Hulk had pulled Tony from the debris and simply tossed the billionaire aside in his broken suit, the Other Guy had returned with Natasha some ten minutes later, but with much more tact and gentleness than he had with the former.

It certainly wasn't what he expected to hear.

"Bruce."

He glanced up as his friend entered the lab.

"Romanoff is awake," Tony told the scientist as he took a seat at his desk, "she wanted me to tell you to stop by."

Bruce found himself blinking rapidly. They had hardly talked since she handed him his bags after the war with the Chitauri in New York City, smiling in a friendly manner as she sent him off with Tony. Save for a few head nods in greeting they mostly ignored one another. "Is that a joke?" he questioned.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Despite your disbelief at the situation you _did_ just save her from being crushed to death by a building," he reminded his friend, "I don't think that's the sort of thing she takes lightly."

"She's not comfortable around me," Bruce insisted, looking back down at his computer screen.

"I'm pretty sure she's singing a different tune now," Tony informed him with a chuckle. He tossed a pen across the desks and watched it hit his friend in the chest, causing the scientist to look up with a perturbed expression. "Just go," he ordered.

Bruce narrowed his eyes slightly before he heaved out a sigh, stood up, and headed for the doors. If anything at least he was ninety-nine percent certain _Natasha_ wouldn't throw random objects at him.

"Thatta' boy!" Tony called after him.

Bruce rolled his own eyes now but smiled despite how annoying Tony Stark could actually be. He appreciated having at least one person who wasn't completely terrified of him, or rather, not terrified to be an idiot in his presence—or even terrified to _throw_ things at him. It was a breath of fresh air which was why he hesitated to go from that room to the one Natasha resided in. 'Not comfortable' with him was putting it mildly when it came to her. It didn't matter though, he figured he might as well get it over with and so he knocked to give her some warning before he pushed the door open and poked his head inside.

Much to his surprise the redhead laying on the bed gave him a warm smile and he didn't see or feel a single hint of discomfort or uneasiness from her.

"Hey," Natasha offered up in greeting as the scientist entered the room a bit warily. She quirked an eyebrow up when he stayed near the door and she chuckled before she quipped, "What, you afraid I'm going to bite if you get too close?"

Bruce was even more surprised by her attempt at levity, to make _him_ more comfortable, and he felt himself relax slightly as he moved to the chair set up beside the bed. He took a seat beside her, studying her with a bit of uncertainty. "Tony said you wanted to see me," he finally stated.

She sighed a little but she supposed that they had never really clicked together socially nor in the heat of a fight, although Natasha could admit she was partially at fault for that because while Bruce naturally avoided social situations, Natasha had unnaturally avoided any social situations that included him; until he saved her life. She sat up and she saw the alert look cross his expression.

Bruce moved before she could completely sit up and put a hand on her shoulder, quickly stopping her efforts. "Are you insane?" he questioned, "you aren't supposed to move."

She raised both eyebrows up now but she laid back down with his gentle push. "I didn't ask you to come here to make you uncomfortable, Doc. I just—" she frowned as she debated a way to word what she wanted to say. "Look...I get that we have this thing where we don't really, you know..." she paused but for the first time she couldn't think of a way to word any of this properly. It wasn't something that had ever happened to her before.

"Talk?" Bruce offered up, amused by her lack of ability to communicate all of the sudden, then he made a different suggestion, "go anywhere near each other?"

Natasha sighed before she inclined her head slightly in agreement. "Both of those things I suppose," she agreed. "What I'm trying to say is, if it weren't for you then I wouldn't be here right now," she pointed out. "The way we were before, I get that it was my fault. You make me nervous and I don't _do_ nervous," came her explanation.

He couldn't help the confusion on his face as he watched her. "Why exactly are you telling me this?" he asked in uncertainty.

"It wasn't fair of me," Natasha tried again, rubbing at her face in frustration. "I'm trying to apologize," she finally pointed out the obvious, "for everything really—for avoiding you, ignoring you."

Bruce couldn't deny his surprise at her sudden change of pace.

"I thought I was going to die and the only thing I could think while the Big Guy tried to save my life was that I didn't even deserve his help," she admitted, "I've treated you and him like plagues to be avoided since New York. I don't understand why Tony wouldn't leave me and I can fathom even less why the Big Guy came back for me..."

"Natasha..." Bruce mumbled out, stunned by all that she had revealed to him in this moment. He'd gotten so used to seeing the stoically emotionless veil over her face that sometimes he forgot there was a person residing behind it.

"What I mean is—I'm sorry—for all of that," she offered up with a tentative smile, "and _thank you_."

It was a weird and unexpected feeling to be on the receiving end of not only Natasha's apology but also her gratitude at the same time. He'd forgotten his hand was even resting on her shoulder until her hand came up and rested on top of his. "It's okay," he assured her. He couldn't quite blame her for being wary of him all that time. He _had_ almost painted a wall with her once and it hadn't been that long after he had terrified her while testing her reaction as he pretended to get angry and Hulk-out in Kolkatta. "If anyone had a right to be a little distrustful of me, I'd say it was you," he admitted, "so it's definitely okay and—you know—I'm really glad you're alright."

Natasha took her hand off of his and let him remove his own off of her shoulder, sensing his discomfort at the physical contact. "So am I," she told him, "can I tell you a secret, Doc?"

Bruce tilted his head to the side in baffled curiosity but he sat back down in the chair nonetheless, fascinated by her sudden interest in talking to him, or maybe he just found Natasha herself fascinating as a person all of the sudden—now that he could see the human being behind the lies and the mask of indifference for the first time since their initial meetings.

"I thought I was okay with dying," she told him with a shrug and a small slanted smile. "And I was right up until the moment the Big Guy took Stark out of there and then suddenly I was down there alone," she explained, staring up at the ceiling, "then all of the sudden...dying was the most terrifying thing in the world—it became real."

Bruce couldn't quite imagine what that must have been like, to think in one moment that you were about to die and be fine with it only to realize almost too late that you weren't.

"And then the Big Guy came back," she told him, turning to glance back at Bruce's contemplative expression, "and it looked like he was as nervous to be near me as I was to be around him."

He couldn't help his surprise at hearing her opinion on that.

"It was the first time I looked at him and _really_ saw him," Natasha admitted with a smile, "he's not a monster. He's smart and there was moment where I saw him make a plan to get me out of there, and I could see a little bit of you in him."

Bruce narrowed his eyes at her. "Now I'm pretty sure you're just messing with me," he told her. "He might occasionally do the right thing—save Tony, save you—but he doesn't plan. He just...does," he assured her, "for better or worse he acts without thinking."

Natasha shook her head, "I know you believe that, hell, I used to believe that too." She sighed before she glanced back up at the ceiling. "We were both wrong," she told him, "though I suppose trying to convince you of that isn't really possible."

He wasn't sure why he gave her the answer that he did, but it came out nonetheless, "Probably not but I guess if anyone could then it would likely be you."

She chuckled at his answer and she figured it was the most acceptable one she would get from him on the topic. "I owe you," she informed him as she looked back over at him. He was blinking in abundance and she suppose he hadn't expected her to say it. "I'm going to figure out how to repay you— _both_ of you," she assured him.

Bruce had to admit that it was a relief to finally have her less guarded around him. Even so it was all too serious between them and he felt the need to use levity much like she had earlier with him. "Well given the multiple leg fractures and the internal bleeding, I'd say you've got a few weeks to figure out how to do that," he told her with a smile.

Much to his relief, Natasha gave him a slanted and impish little smile, one he'd never quite seen on her before—but he couldn't deny that he liked it.

* * *

 **Thank goodness that's out of my head. Hope you enjoyed the insanity.**


End file.
